Strike Down
by Aranna Undomiel
Summary: Alex is known for his stubborness. But will this time, that stuborness bring harm to a friend...
1. Chapter 1

"**Strike Down"**

**By **

**Aranna Undomiel**

**A/N**

Well, I know not many people will be reading stories in this forum anymore, but I found this sitting on my computer and it was nearly finished. And I figured since I had gone through the trouble of writing it, the least I could do was post it...;) So here it is, I hope someone will find it and read it!

Enjoy! Oh and obviously, not mine, otherwise this would have been an awesome episode on the show...lol ;P

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><p><em><strong>*VLAM*<strong>_

Still seething from his previous encounter with his soon-to-be-ex-wife Fiona, Alex Ryan slammed open the door to the shed. The person working in there on a piece of equipment nearly dropped his tools as he spun around to the origin of the noise. _" Oi, you trying to give me a heart attack there mate?" _He questioned

"_I thought you army blokes were supposed to have nerves of wired steel, Riley?" _Not giving his overseer a chance to respond to that, he continued: _"The mob in the south paddock needs moving. Meet me out front in ten!" _With that said, he marched out again.

"_Yes, sir" _Riley muttered sarcastically, while putting down his tools to saddle up his horse.

Riding out to the front of Killarney he found Alex already there, waiting impatiently. As Alex took notice of the horse Riley had saddled up, his look turned skeptical. _" You sure that brumby of yours is ready for this job?" " Pilgrim will do fine, won't you boy?" _Riley answered, patting the brown horse on his neck. The horse nickered softly, as if replying. _" Fine, if you say so" " I do" "Let's get going then, no need to waste anymore time" _Riley shook his head in amusement, making sure Alex didn't see it, before spurring on Pilgrim to take of behind after him.

" _Hey…Hey, come on!" _Both men ushered the sheep on down the road, both wanting to move them along faster. Much time had been lost, much to Alex' chagrin in collecting all of the mob. A fence had apparently gone down and the sheep, feeling the pull of the green grass on the other side, had wandered past it, spreading out as they grazed. Bringing them all back where they belonged and fixing the fence had cost them a few precious hours. It was a lot later than Alex had planned and that hadn't done much good for his already sour mood. Not to mention that Riley's carefree attitude at the whole matter annoyed him even more. Lost in his brooding thoughts, Alex didn't hear Riley approaching until the dark-haired man had literally placed his brumby in front of his own horse, effectively getting his attention.

" _Oi, mate, you asleep? Been calling your name for hours" _Riley waved his hand in front of Alex' face, grinning widely. Annoyed, Alex pushed his horse past Riley's, causing the brumby to throw his head back in reaction. It didn't take Riley long to calm his horse and move it back besides Alex. _" Listen mate, we need to leave this mob and head back home ourselves. Look at that sky, that's gonna be a big one and I for one wouldn't want to be in it." _Riley said, pointing behind them. Alex turned around in his saddle and got sight of the darkening sky, grayish-yellow clouds rolling along it. He judged the distance quickly and turned back to Riley. _" We keep going." " What? No mate, I'm telling you we should head back now. No way were gonna make it at this pace!" " Riley, we keep going, that's final. It's just a bit of wind and rain!" _

Riley opened his mouth to protest, but Alex beat him to it: _" You want me to tell Jodi you're not half the hero you pretend to be?" _Riley mouth shot closed with an almost audible clack and Alex couldn't help but feel his mood improve just a little at the comical look of shock on the younger man's face. _" You wouldn't dare?" _Riley grumbled. _" Ah but I would, mate…Now come on." _Alex nudged his horse forward, effectively closing the argument.

"_You're the boss" _Riley muttered, entirely unhappy with the situation, but having learned that with Alex in that mood, he wasn't going to be persuaded. He moved Pilgrim back to their place on the other side of the mob, casting glances behind him once in a while at the dark clouds gathering there…

The wind picked up speed and started to whirl around leaves and small branches. The sky had turned greenish-gray in the last half hour and faint rumbles could be heard in the distance.

The sheep bleated and Pilgrim had started to become restless, occasionally fighting against the reins. The two men drove the sheep forward at the highest pace they could must up, but Killarney was still a good hour on its way. Even Alex started to wonder if he maybe had better listened to Riley, as there was indeed no way they were going to reach the farm before this storm reached them. He once again had let his pig-headedness come in the way of logic and reason, he silently cursed himself…

Pilgrim suddenly bucked as the thunder rumbled and the wind speed increased a notch. It was almost dark around them, the storm clouds chasing away the midday-light and from behind a steadily increasing tingling sound could be heard. Before Alex could turn around to discover the origin of the sound, it already was upon them.

The rain pouring down drenched them within minutes, the sheep bleating unhappily as they were pelted by the large raindrops. Thunder rolled closer by and Pilgrim bucked and jumped aside, taking off in a run before Riley could get him back under his control. As Alex moved his horse closed to Riley, he noticed the tense look on the younger man's face as he struggled to keep his horse from bolting again. Trying to lighten the mood a bit, he shouted: _" Hey Ward, told you not to bring this brumby along!" _Without looking at him, Riley responded heatedly: _" Yeah yeah, real funny Ryan. But he's doing fine!" _

With the help of their flashlights they carefully maneuvered trough the bushes and trees that lined this part of Killarney. Suddenly their surroundings lit up brightly as lighting flashed and the ground shook as the thunder seemed to be released right over their heads. Being taken slightly of guard, Alex responded a few seconds to late as his own horse reared on his hind legs and than bucked forward. With a rather unmanly yelp he was sent flying over the neck of his horse, landing painfully on the soaked ground, watching his horse take of in the direction of home without him. Riley, already alert on every movement of his brumby, had managed to stay seated and now guided Pilgrim back to where he last saw Alex. Another flash of lightning made his search easier and he couldn't help but grin at the sight that was illuminated before him. _" Whose horse should have been left behind, again?" _he shouted over the wind and rain at a rather muddy Alex. With a sour look on his face, Alex opened his mouth to retort, when suddenly many things happened at once: lighting struck the tree next to them, splitting it in half, branches breaking off and falling down. Under it was Riley, trying to control Pilgrim as thunder clashed simultaneously. Before Alex could shout a warning, Riley and Pilgrim were covered by leaves and wood as they crashed to the ground with a resounding thud…

TBC….


	2. Chapter 2

Ch 2

In the silence that seemed to follow, Alex jumped up to run towards man and horse, but a searing pain in his ankle sent him toppling down again. Biting back a cry he gingerly felt for the offending limb, prodding it carefully to assess the damage, finding it already swollen. Cursing under his breath, Alex rose again, this time not putting any weight on his left foot as he hobbled towards the fallen tree. Another flash of lightning clearly pointed out the tangled mass of branches, legs and feet ahead of him. After the noise of the next thunder slowly died out, a high-pitched shriek resounded, startling Alex. As the unearthly sound continued he started to realize it was Riley's terrified horse that was making it.

Reaching the site, he quickly began tearing off the branches that were covering Riley and his horse. Putting all his strength to good use, he finally managed to lift the heaviest one off of them. The brumby immediately started to struggle to get up, but his hind limbs made no sign of joining in the effort. Once again screaming, the horse kept franticly trying, the white of his eyes showing and his nostrils flaring. Alex stood rooted to the spot for a few seconds at the sight, but as the brumby flopped down tiredly on its right side again, he started looking for Riley. He found the young man as he shone his flashlight around the horse, his right leg caught underneath the horse's lower body. The whiteness of his face formed a sharp contrast with the red of his blood covering the left side of his face and neck. Alex quickly knelt down next to him and fearfully felt for a pulse. Breathing out in relief he felt it softly beating under his fingers. Not as strong as he would have liked but at least it was there. He tried to wake Riley, first by shouting his name in his ear, than by shaking his shoulder, but to no avail. Not even the movement of the horse as it once again tried to get up provoked a reaction. Getting no further with waking him, Alex started to try and free Riley's leg from underneath the horse, but his busted ankle and his quickly waning strength, proved yet another effort to be unsuccessful. He shivered in the cold of rain and wind, putting his hands deep in his pockets to try and warm them. His right hand touched something hard and cold and his hope flared as he realized his SAT-phone was in there. Quickly pulling it out, he dialed the alarm number, but the phone failed to make the connection. Muttering a curse, he slowly circled around his axis, hoping another direction would get the phone to find a satellite, but no suck luck. Stuffing it back into his pocket angrily he looked at Riley and than the sky above him, trying to figure out the best course of action: trying to walk home on his busted ankle getting Riley the much needed help, thus leaving him behind; or stay with him and wait for help to come to them, an action going against his very nature, always feeling compelled to do 'something'. The horse's new struggles and the sound of a low moan in response quickly settled his internal debate.

Dropping to his knees beside Riley's head, he watched intently as the dark eyelashes started to flutter and a frown appear on his forehead. Suddenly his eyes flew wide open and, to Alex ' surprise and shock, his body bolting upright, eyes searching franticly from right to left.

Snapping out his stupor, he quickly grabbed Riley's shoulders and held him steady as the consequences of the younger man's sudden movements caught up to him…

Before he knew what had happened he was moving to be on his feet again, eyes scanning his surroundings for possible enemies. Seconds later however a blinding light exploded in his head and a searing pain shot up from his abdomen. Not knowing which pain to deal with first, his body slowly fell back to the ground again, only to be steadied by two strong hands. Gritting his teeth and blinking his eyes he slowly turned his head towards those hands and the voice that drifted down to him _"Whoa mate, easy there…"_

Shaking his head to rid the cobwebs, his stomach immediately started to protest the movement. Breathing deeply, staying as still as possible, he somehow managed to avoid getting sick in front of…._" Alex" _ he breathed _" what?…" _ He blinked slowly.

" _Riley, take it easy, mate. How are you feeling?" _ He got in response and he pondered the question carefully. _How was he feeling…?_ He slowly turned his head back to scan his body, his confusion growing as he reached his lower legs, or where they should have been. Something brown and hairy covered them. He carefully raised his right hand to touch the strange object. In response to his touch, the object moved violently and blackness exploded behind his eyes…

His worry growing as he took in the vacant look in Riley's eyes and the lack of response, Alex felt Riley's body go limp again after the horse started trashing in reaction to his masters touch. Setting Riley's head in his lap to keep him comfortable, he leaned back against the nearest tree, trying to figure out what to do next. His body slowly started to relax however and soon fatigue overtook him, sending him into a fitful sleep…

TBC…


	3. Chapter 3

Ch 3

Startling awake a while later, the events quickly returned to his mind. He mentally smacked himself for falling asleep for… he didn't even know for how long…

Looking up again, he suddenly realized what had woken him: a bright ray of sunlight peaked through the leaves and shone straight into his eyes. Scanning the sky he noticed there was no sigh of the heavy storm from earlier. The sky was blue and the leaves were dry. Only the scene in front of him, even more gruesome in broad daylight, was a stark reminder of what happened. The tired horse, now lying still, only whinnying now and than; the blood from Riley's head wound turned brown as it had dried on his pants' legs, nearly the same color as the eyes staring up at him... Startled, Alex shot up straight in surprise, jostling Riley, who hissed at him_: "Whoa, easy there sleeping beauty, careful with the wounded man down here." _

_"Well, look who's still spouting nonsense!"_ Alex answered with a giant grin, not in the least fooled by the younger man's tough act. Lines of pain were clearly visible around his eyes and the movement his upper body had made had caused him to hiss in pain. _"Do you know what happened Riley?" _Alex inquired, trying to assess the seriousness of the head injury. The younger man scrunched his forehead in thought, searching for his hazy memories of the past events_. "Yeah, there was a storm and than you wouldn't listen to me when I told you it was too dangerous, but after that...no not really..."_

Alex rolled his eyes at that, leave it to Riley to remember nothing but that one part. He quickly filled him in on what had happened to them, worried about the loss of memory.

Riley's eyes started drooping again, when he suddenly heard a soft whinny. Recognizing that sound immediately, after spending so many hours together; he gasped as he realized he must have been on top of his horse when the branch struck him_. "Pilgrim?"_

A louder and more desperate whinny resounded and suddenly pain shot up his legs as the dark form in front of him started moving. As the realization dawned on him that his horse was lying on his legs, still after this many hours, the pain and shock sent him gasping and he started to loose consciousness again. He fought against it and eventually managed to clear his vision enough to see the hazy outlines of Alex' face hovering over him...

Alex watched as Riley struggled with the pain and emotions as he quietly answered the question on Riley's mind...

Minutes turned into hours and the sun slowly started to move downwards to the horizon. Not much had changed in that time in the situation of both men. They had shared the last of the water and Alex had an increasingly hard time keeping Riley awake. Darkness crept upon them once again as the night approached, when suddenly swaying lights could be seen towards Alex' left. Blinking out of his stupor, he softly placed Riley's head back on the ground. _"Someone's coming, help is on its way mate"_ he explained at the confused look thrown at his general direction with that action.

_"Hey! Over here! We're here. We need help!"_ Alex started yelling, slowly moving in the direction of the flashlights, taking care not to put weight on his left foot. He waved his arms around wildly as the direction of the lights finally turned his way and the sound of hooves grew louder. He shielded his eyes as the bright light suddenly hit his face and tried to look around it to catch a glimpse of the rescue-party.

The two riders quickly dismounted and addressed him: _"Alex, what happened? We got a call from Fiona saying you hadn't come home yet and you didn't answer your phone?"_

"_Stevie, mate, I've never been more glad to see you"_ Alex smiled as he limped towards his redheaded friend. _"Where's Riley? "_ The other female asked worriedly. _"He's over there, Kate" _Alex responded, pointing over his shoulder, _"He's hurt pretty bad; tree branch landed on him"_ Both women swung their flashlights in the mentioned direction, gasping in shock as they fell on the nearly conscious man and horse. Stevie broke out of her shock first, grabbing her phone to inform the emergency services of the situation, as Kate ran to Riley's side.

Half an hour later, night had set in, but the site of the accident was brightly illuminated by big lights, courtesy of the CSF, as they worked hard to position ropes around Pilgrim's abdomen and legs. Alex watched from his seat in the back of an ambulance, his ankle being checked by a paramedic. The horse was terrified but had stopped fighting them by the combination of Riley's calming voice and Stevie's gentle and soothing touch at his head. Soon the horse's hind legs were lifted far enough from the ground that Riley could be pulled out from underneath them. Paramedics immediately surrounded the dark-haired man, but the stubborn young man seemed to refuse treatment until he knew how his horse was doing.

Dave, after performing a quick physical exam on the horse, turned to Riley, who finally had agreed to lie down on a stretcher_. "I'm sorry Riley, but Pilgrim seems to have no feeling or movement left in the lower part of his body. I fear the impact of the branch has broken his spine…" _Riley slowly nodded, face carefully wiped of any emotion, having expected and feared that news. He turned to Stevie: _"Give me your rifle please"_ he said, as he made to stand up. The paramedics once again protested, but Riley would not be deterred. Not being able to stand on his own, he was quickly supported by Kate and Dave as Stevie came back with the loaded rifle. Supporting Alex, they walked towards their friend, who had been lowered next to the horse's head. Pilgrim lay still, his eyes following Riley, whinnying softly as the man whispered soft words in velvet brown ears, slowly stroking his head. Nodding to his friends they pulled him upright again. Ignoring the pain flaring up in his legs and head, he accepted the rifle from Stevie and took aim…

The loud sound was followed by a heavy silence and for a moment no one moved, before the paramedics took charge again. Riley was placed back on the stretcher, hooked to an IV and dosed with painkillers, before being wheeled into the waiting ambulance, Alex sitting to the side. The 3 friends remaining outside pretended not to notice the tears pooling in the brown eyes as the doors closed and the vehicle drove off.

"_How is he?"_ Alex asked one of the paramedics as the young man's eyes closed again, unconsciousness finally claiming him again. _"He'll be fine I think. It'll take a couple of weeks, but nothing seems to be broken, just a lot of bruising and a nasty concussion. "_

Alex finally allowed himself to relax at that, exhaustion settling in deep. Thankfully his friend would not keep any lingering problems from his foolishness. Well at least not physically. As for mentally, well he would just have to make time to try and fix that too. With the help of their friends, he was certain that would work out in the end too…

THE END


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